


Modern Chemistry (Sally Face AU)

by malfunctioning_fiction



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Fanfiction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25387369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malfunctioning_fiction/pseuds/malfunctioning_fiction
Summary: In which Sal Fisher meets someone who makes him feel like he doesn't have to rehearse every possible conversation in his head because social anxiety is a bitch.
Kudos: 5





	Modern Chemistry (Sally Face AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Settling in, coconut mochas, and blueberry scones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter notes are at the end <3

“Seems like you’re settling in quite nicely, Gizmo. That must be nice.”

The large tabby cat stretched and let out a purr as his owner, Sal Fisher, reached a hand down to scritch his neck. The cat’s purr grew louder and Sal chuckled, drawing his hand back after a few more seconds.

The boy looked around his apartment a few times before sighing and sitting himself next to his cat on his bed. He grabbed a stack of papers off of the bedside table and scanned over them. “Class Itinerary - Sal Fisher” was printed in big, bold letters at the top of the first page. A list of classroom numbers and times filled up the rest of it. 

Sal Fisher had just moved to Nockfell, a small town quite a few day’s drive from his home state: New Jersey. The town was small, which he was thankful for, and he was excited to have a new start. Nervous, of course, but mostly excited. “There are a few more kids your age living in the same apartment complex,” his dad had told him as they were packing up. “Addison told me. They go to the same college, too. You’re going to love it, Sal. I know you are.” 

The more his dad talked about college, the more Sal began to think his dad was trying to convince himself that Sal would be okay. 

Addison was the owner of the apartments. He was quite mysterious - Sal noticed that immediately. Overly polite but yet so quiet, always speaking in a hushed tone. Sal really couldn’t say anything, though, considering he had a speech impediment himself and tried to hide it by speaking quietly sometimes. It wasn’t a mental thing. His mind knew how to say words. His lips were just so deformed by scars that it was hard to form simple consonants.

Sal brushed his bright blue bangs back and out of his eye sight so that he could read his class itinerary easier. His fingers felt the cold, hard plastic of his prosthetic face, and he readjusted it after he got his hair out of the way. He glanced back at his cat, who was now snoring quite loudly next to him. Sal chuckled and stood up, placing the papers back on the bedside table. His stomach rumbled, and he figured that a mid afternoon snack wouldn’t hurt. He had seen a small cafe on the way into town, and maybe Addison could tell him if it was good or not.

With a sigh, Sal grabbed his jacket and walked out of his apartment, locking the door behind him. “Just get a coffee,” he told himself. “And maybe a croissant or something. It shouldn’t be that hard to order-”

Sal’s thoughts were interrupted when he ran straight into someone in front of him. “Shit,” he cursed, backing up. “I’m so sorry-”

The woman looking back at him smiled with a warm smile and her brown eyes squinted as she let out a chuckle, pushing her long, dark brown hair behind her right ear. She was wearing a janitor's uniform and held a mop in her left hand.  
“No, sweetie. I should be apologizing! I got too caught up in my mopping,” She said, continuing to smile. “You must be the new tenant Addison was telling me about! I’m Lisa. The janitor here. Anything you need you can come straight to me.” She said, extending a hand.

Sal was dumbfounded at how Lisa was already so kind - not immediately asking about his strange appearance. Sal couldn’t help but smile back at her, even though she couldn’t see it, and shook her hand. “Sal Fisher,” He said, surprised at how strong her grip was. “You’re starting school at Nockfell College, right?” She asked. A puzzled expression crossed Sal’s face, and he was glad she couldn’t see it.

“Yeah…” He said, slight uneasiness laced in his voice. Lisa chucked. “Addison told me that, too. No need to be worried.” 

Sal let out a small sigh of relief and laughed at his anxiety. “Chill, dude,” he mentally told himself. “You’re fine.”

“I have a son around your age,” Lisa commented, shifting her weight onto her hip. “His name is Larry and he is starting at Nockfell college, too. He isn’t here right now, but maybe you can meet him later?” She offered. Sal nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great, actually,” Sal replied, nodding again.

“Good! Well, I’ll let you go, sweets. You look like you’re on your way out.”

“Actually,” Sal said quietly, before Lisa could turn back around. He was surprised she heard him. “What’s up?” Lisa asked.

“The cafe around the corner. Is it any good?”

Lisa’s face brightened up. “It’s great for a day like today!” She looked out the nearest window at the cloudy sky. “The coffee is amazing and their pastries are always fresh. You might catch Larry there! He just left to visit a friend and was going to grab coffee there afterwards maybe 30 minutes ago.”

“Oh, thanks,” Sal smiled again before Lisa turned back around, and he made his way down to the doors of the apartments. 

He wrapped his flannel and leather jacket around himself tighter, the cold air immediately hitting him as he stepped outside. His pace hurried as his skinny body shivered, wanting to get into a warmer climate as fast as possible.

Sal took in a few of the sites around him. Nockfell really wasn’t that pretty of a town. It was quite dull, every building being a dark grey or light beige color. No pretty colors were in sight. He stuck out like a sore thumb - his bright blue hair sticking out everywhere which added to him being the only person in town that had to wear a prosthetic face. 

Sal came to the end of the sidewalk and rounded the corner, immediately seeing a few people maybe his age leave a building. The sign above the doorway they were walking out of read “Red’s Cafe - The best coffee in Nockfell” in dark, red lettering. Sal grabbed the open door right as one of the people from the exiting group let it go, and stepped foot inside.

The warmth of the cafe surrounded him and he sighed a breath of relief, thankful for the change in temperature. He took a glance around the shop and was surprised to see a different color than grey and beige. The inside of the cafe was painted a dark, dusty red color. The tables were all mahogany, and there were some booths tucked into the corners of the building. 

“Welcome to Red’s, what can I get started for you today?”

Sal was interrupted from gazing around the shop by the curly haired ginger that stood behind the counter. Sal made eye contact with him and glanced down at his name tag. “Todd” was printed in big, bold letters. “Um, I-” Sal started.

“You look new here. Can I recommend something?” Todd interrupted again.

“S-sure,” Sal stuttered, his face growing hot due to nervousness under his mask. This interaction was not going as he had rehearsed in his mind. He should have been done with his order at this point.

“The coconut mocha is my favorite.”

Sal didn’t like coconut, but he hated telling people no even more. Maybe it would be okay.

“Sounds good. A small is fine,” He said, his face growing more red. 

Todd nodded with a smile, grabbing a cup. “What name?”

“Sal.”

“Well, nice to meet ya, Sal. I’m Todd. How long have you been here?”

“Just moved.” Sal said quietly. “Ah,” Todd pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. “Anything else?” Sal heard the door chime go off behind him.

“Croissant?” He managed to get out.

“We’re unfortunately out.”

Sal sighed, just ready to be finished with his order.

“I- “

“Try a blueberry scone. They’re delicious.” A deepy, slightly raspy voice spoke up from behind Sal.

Sal turned around and made eye contact with a very tall, tan boy around his age. He had long, dark brown hair, tied half up, half down. He had large, brown puppy dog-like eyes with thick brows above them and a mole on his right cheek. He also had a bit of stubble on his chin, and Sal noticed a gap between his two front teeth when he smiled. He looked a lot like Lisa.

“Larry,” Sal thought to himself. “This has to be Larry.”

Sal turned back to the counter and nodded to Todd, approving of the blueberry scone idea. “Larry! Nice to see you back in here,” Todd waved to the tall boy while he calculated Sal’s order.

So it was Larry.

“Four fifty two,” Todd said. Sal began to reach for his wallet, but a hand from behind slid a five dollar bill onto the counter.

Sal turned back around, knowing that it had to have come from Larry.

“Nice mask,” Larry winked. “The usual, Todd. Put it on the tab,” He said, looking at Todd and immediately going to a booth in the back. Todd must have been able to read the disbelief in Sal’s one eye. The ginger let out a chuckle.

“That’s Larry for you. He’s a really cool guy,” Todd said, starting to make Sal’s drink. Sal’s face seemed to cool down, and he was relieved that his body was calming down from everything that just happened. “Everything is fine,” he told himself. “You did well.”

This is how going out into public usually worked. Sal would rehearse every possible conversation he could have at the place he was going to, and if it went the slightest bit off the rails, he would immediately panic. This was when his prosthetic came in handy - no one could see him flush red due to embarrassment.

Unless his ears turned pink, which actually happened way more often than he’d like to admit.

He used to wear his hair in pigtails, but that showed his ears too much for his liking once he realized they gave away his anxiety. So, when he set off to live on his own, he ditched the style that he had stuck with for years. His hair now stayed down, usually a mess due to readjusting his prosthetic’s straps multiple times a day, and he cut it by himself with whatever scissors he had nearby. Never shorter than shoulder length, though. He mostly just gave himself a trim every once in a while. He never wanted to step foot in a hair salon, knowing they’d try to remove his mask to cut his hair.

After every conversation Sal had, he would reassure himself that he did well, something that his therapist had told him to do for years. It seemed to somehow work - immediately telling yourself that you made it through easily enough before immediately deciding that you basically just committed social suicide. 

Todd handed the change to Sal and got to work on his order. Sal decided to try and give the change back to Larry, as somewhat of a thank you for paying for his first coffee at the town cafe. He walked over to Larry’s table and placed the change in front of him. Larry looked up at it from what looked like a sketch book, and then made eye contact with Sal.

“It’s a prosthetic, by the way,” Sal said. “Not a mask.” 

Larry’s eyes suddenly grew big. “Oh, dude. I’m sorry.” 

Sal couldn’t help but chuckle at how fast the boy’s demeanor changed. “It’s fine, don’t worry. I call it a mask sometimes myself.” Larry seemed to be relieved, his shoulders immediately slumping down and a sigh escaping his lips.

“You can keep the forty eight cents,” Larry offered. Sal shrugged, pushing it towards him. “Nah, your change is my thank you for buying my first meal in Nockfell.”

“Wait, where did you move to?” Larry gestured to the seat across from him, inviting Sal to join.  
Sal hesitated, but sat down anyways. 

“Addison Apartments.”

“So you’re the new tennant my mom has been talking about!” Larry exclaimed. “She’s been going on and on about how she’s happy someone my age is finally moving in.”

“Lisa? Yeah, I met her this morning.” Sal said. “She mentioned I might run into you here. I’m Sal, by the way.” 

Larry grinned and rolled up the sleeves of his red hoodie. Sal saw a few tattoos, one with the letters “SF” inside a circle on his forearm being the most noticeable. “Larry Johnson,” Larry introduced. Sal smiled from underneath his mask, and for once, he didn't start to rehearse a conversation.

The next few hours were filled with the boys getting to know each other, sipping on their drinks, nibbling on their scones, and talking about hobbies and interests. Sal had never felt so comfortable talking to someone.

Larry was into heavy metal, art, tattoos, and making music. Sal found it so easy to talk to him, being into some of the same things. He had always wanted to get more into heavy metal, he had already tried his hand at art (and he enjoyed it, it just was never the prettiest), he had thought about tattoos before, and already made music. If Sal wasn’t busy, he was at home playing his guitar and songwriting. 

“Sanity’s Fall,” Larry simply stated, wiping crumbs of his blueberry scone off of his mouth with his right hand, “Is hands down the best band I have ever listened to. Have you ever heard of them?” Sal shrugged. “I’m just now trying to get into metal, so I’m not sure.” Larry pointed to the tattoo on his arm. “I love them so much that I got their logo permanently etched onto me,” he chuckled. “I’ll have to introduce you to Ash. She does all my tattoo work and is a badass. Have you thought about getting one?”

“A tattoo?” Sal replied. Larry nodded. “Eh, every now and then,” Sal started “I’m not the biggest fan of needles.”

“But you’re into horror movies?” Larry raised a brow and Sal let out a small laugh, forgetting that he had mentioned that mid-conversation. “Oddly enough, yeah. But it’s more serial killer stuff that I’m into. It’s not like heavy gore makes me queasy, I just prefer the thrill of a thriller movie instead.”

“Understandable,” Larry nodded again. “But Ash really is talented with a tattoo gun. I would never let another artist tatt me.”

Sal glanced up at the clock on the wall. Shit, had it already been three hours?

“I’ve gotta get back and start unpacking,” Sal chuckled nervously. “I want to have everything situated before school starts. I can’t study in an unpacked room.”

“Need help?” Larry asked. Sal’s first instinct was to refuse.

“Nah, I-” and then Sal thought for a second. He did have a lot of boxes, and it had been pretty lonely the night before. “Actually,” Sal started again. “I wouldn’t mind that.”

A new burst of energy seemed to hit Larry, and he packed all of his art supplies up in an instant. He had been doodling as the two had talked, and Sal didn’t mind. He enjoyed watching Larry come up with simple yet really good concept sketches. And Sal could have sworn that he saw a sketch of his prosthetic on the corner of a piece of paper in the sketch book. Larry stood up and shoved the forty eight cents into a pocket on his camo cargo pants. “You sure you don’t want the forty eight cents, dude?” Larry asked as he slung his backpack over his shoulder.

“Positive. It’s just forty eight cents.”

“But it could be your forty eight cents.”

Sal gave in. “Fine, give me the damn forty eight cents.”

Larry smirked and stuck his hand in the same pocket he placed the change and handed it back to Sal.

“All is right in the world,” he said as Sal took it.

“I guess so, Johnson,” Sal buckled the bottom straps of his prosthetic. “I guess so.”

“Shall we go get you settled in, then?” Larry asked as Sal stood up.

“Better now than never.”

And with that, the two left Red’s, saying goodbye to Todd on their way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends!  
> Man, it's been such a long time since I last sat down and decided to really work on some fan fiction, but quarantine has us all doing crazy things, I guess!  
> Like I just said, it's been forever since I last wrote. So bear with me! The first few chapters may be short but I'm sure they'll get longer as I go!  
> For those of you who don't know, I'm @malachite.cos on instagram and TikTok!  
> hope you enjoyed the first chapter <3  
> Lots of love,  
> Mal


End file.
